How to get strong perfume smell out of cardboard and paper
Porous materials like paper and cardboard trap volatile scent oils deeply within their fibers, making standard liquid cleaners ineffective and damaging. Trying to wash or spray these items causes the materials to warp and fall apart before the odor can be lifted.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Using rubbing alcohol
- 2Using Dawn dish soap
- 3Using Febreeze
- 4Airing the item out
- 5Sealing the item in a plastic bag with baking soda
- 6Wiping the affected area with paper towels
- 7Opening at least two windows while cooking
- 8Placing a fan in a window close to the kitchen to draw air outside
- 9Using a big HEPA air purifier
- 10Using a deodorizing or enzymatic cleaner/concentrate
- 11Changing cooking methods to use less oil
- 12Using Febreze spray and airing out the room
- 13Putting removable pillow covers in the dryer with dryer sheets on air fluff
- 14Using a hand steamer, shampooer, or mini spot vacuum like the Bissell Little Green Machine
- 15Removing covers to wash them, applying baking soda to the couch, and vacuuming it up
- 16wiping down the interior of the dryer with vinegar and running a hot cycle
- 17deep cleaning the guts of the dryer or having professionals service it
- 18cleaning out the dryer vent and lint traps regularly
- 19Soaking items in a water-diluted white vinegar solution
- 20Running standard washing cycles
- 21Soaking in a borax bath overnight
- 22Washing with baking soda and vinegar
- 23Airing out the drawers
- 24Using cups of baking soda
- 25Sprinkling baking soda directly in the drawers
- 26Spraying with a water and white vinegar mixture and wiping with a microfiber cloth
- 27Spraying down with cheap vodka and letting it evaporate
- 28Returning the item
- 29Using an enzymatic cleaner (such as one labeled for pet messes) to neutralize the smell.
- 30Using a home upholstery cleaner after applying an enzyme cleaner.
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“after they left my house my couches and couch pillows smelled like crazy BO.”source ↗
“Is there any easy way to clean my couches and pillows when this happens?”source ↗
“I have a giant, awesome list of chronic pain diagnosis so it’s very hard on me to get out our giant furniture cleaner every time the couches smells.”source ↗
“I live in a studio apartment and we have a make shift kitchen so there is no exhaust fan when we cook.”source ↗
“all of the food smells have accumulated into this super strange smell and has sucked up into all of the fabric in my apartment.”source ↗
“now I am so insecure about it and so disgusted. It is in my clothes.”source ↗
“I can’t keep up with washing all these fabrics all the time which doesn’t even seem to work anyway.”source ↗
“I bought this box set at Savers. It smells like someone spilled a bottle of powdery perfume on it.”source ↗
“I’ve tried rubbing alcohol, Dawn, Febreeze, and airing it out to the point that the paper edges are falling apart.”source ↗
“I understand using liquids on paper will result in destruction, but I am desperate to get the scent out.”source ↗
“How do I clean the bottom of the inside of my duffel bag . I had a tuna salad bowl leak through a paper bag , on to the bottom of my duffel bag .”source ↗
“What could I do remove the stain as well as remove the fishy smell ?”source ↗
“the dryer still stinks and I hate it and 2) she will continue to wash & dry her things which means the smell will return.”source ↗
“Smelling good is extremely important to me so I need to know how to remove the smell from the dryer itself. I can’t have that in my clothes too.”source ↗
“The microencapsulated chemical fragrance is incredibly persistent, and standard washing cycles are not breaking down the polymer shells that trap the volatile organic compounds (VOCs).”source ↗
“For health and respiratory reasons, I need to completely strip these chemical formulas out of the fabric fibers until they are entirely scent-free.”source ↗
“So far, I have tried soaking the items in a water diluted white vinegar solution. Should I continue re- soaking with this method, or is there a more effective, scientifically sound way to break down these persistent synthetic fragrance boundaries without ruining the integrity of the underlying fabric?”source ↗
“the fabric drawers came with a chemically smell that is identical to the smell of new plastic vine plants.”source ↗
“The smell went away almost completely with the vinegar, but is now somehow back a day later.”source ↗
“Washing them is not an option as there is cardboard between the fabric.”source ↗
“I recently threw up on my chair in my room from drinking to much, i obviously would have told my mum but she can’t know that i threw up because of drink.”source ↗
“there is no visible stain but the smell is starting to get really bad. any advice on how to get rid of the smell or how to disinfect it would be greatly appreciated.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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